Keeping bare ground covered and live roots growing for as much of the year as possible, over the long term, enhances productivity, resilience to climate extremes and water quality. Farmers and crop advisors recognize the many benefits of cover crops including preventing erosion, improving soil health, suppressing weed growth and retaining nutrients in the soil, to name just a few. Whether cover crops are a new or established practice in your farming system, the Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC) has information and resources to help you succeed with cover crops.

Every year the Midwest Cover Crops Council has an annual business meeting followed by a one-day conference for farmers, researchers, educators, agency personnel, non-governmental organizations and agribusiness to learn the latest cover crop information. The meeting and conference rotate around the Midwest.

This year’s Midwest Cover Crops Council annual meeting and conference will be held Feb. 11 – 12, 2020, at the KCI Convention Center, 11730 N. Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, MO 64153. The event is hosted by University of Missouri Extension, Kansas State University Research and Extension and University of Nebraska Extension. View the conference agenda, registration and lodging information.

This year’s program features a keynote address titled “Selecting and Managing Cover Crops” by Paul Jasa of the University of Nebraska. Concurrent cover crop educational sessions will be held on crop production, livestock and grazing, and environmental and economics.

For the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA), the Midwest Cover Crops Council is able to offer a special discount to CCAs when they provide their CCA ID#, thanks to support from the McKnight Foundation. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for CCAs will be available for both days of the meeting.

If you have questions about the conference or cover crops, contact Dean Baas, baasdean@msu.edu. Cover crop information and resources are available through Michigan State University Extension’s Cover Crops page and the Midwest Cover Crops Council.

This work is supported by the Crop Protection and Pest Management Program 2017-70006-27175 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.